The following are among the conventional tasks of a control device for internal combustion engines: metering the fuel quantity injected into each cylinder according to an output demand as predefined by an accelerator-pedal position, for example; regulating the fresh-air supply to the cylinders in conformance with the injected fuel quantity in order to realize a desired air-fuel ratio for the combustion process; and establishing suitable ignition timing for the combustion process. To this end, modern engine-control devices utilize measured values of operating parameters of the internal combustion engine itself, which are detected by appropriate associated sensors. However, in doing so they fail to use the full range of parameters that could be utilized in a motor vehicle to realize a regulation of the engine output that corresponds precisely to the driver's wishes.